DOJ to file more graft cases in run-up to 2022 polls

The special anticorruption body led by the Department of Justice (DOJ) would be more discerning as complaints against public officials are expected to surge in the run-up to the 2022 elections, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Saturday. Guevarra, who was tasked by President Duterte to head the Task Force Against Corruption, noted a drop in the number of information and reports about supposed irregular government projects submitted this month compared to the two previous months. As of Jan. 11, they have already received 144 complaints since the task force was created in October last year. “But we expect the number to rise as we draw closer to the next elections,” Guevarra said in a Viber message. “There may be a rash of politically motivated complaints alleging corruption by contending elective officials,” he said. “We will have to evaluate each complaint on the basis of adequate evidence submitted to support general allegations,” Guevarra said. The DOJ chief said most complaints involved alleged irregularities in public infrastructure projects. —Marlon Ramos